Was Paul the Last Apostle?

I have just witnessed another colossal example of eisegesis at work.

"Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also." 1 Corinthians 15:8

This verse was quoted and used to argue that Paul said he was the last apostle and that there would be none after him. But is that what this verse is teaching? Let us examine the context, shall we?

"Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain; but I labored even more than all of them, yet not I, but the grace of God with me. Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed." 1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Verses 3 and 4 give us the first ever Christian creed. In verses 5 through 7, those to whom the risen Messiah/Christ appeared are named, and in verse 8 Paul says that Jesus also appeared to him. However, Paul's was a revelatory appearance since Jesus had already ascended into Heaven. So what does verse 8 actually teach? Does it teach that Paul was the last apostle and that there would be none after him? No, it does not. It teaches that Paul was the last person to whom the risen Messiah/Christ appeared.

If verse 8 has to do with apostleship, then so, too, do the earlier verses, which means that there were over 500 apostles! I will guarantee that those who misinterpret this verse will be quick to deny over 500 apostles. We do know that there were more than 13, however. In fact, Scripture lists at least 23.

1. Jesus — Hebrews 3:1
2. Simon Peter — Matthew 10:2
3. Andrew — Matthew 10:2
4. James the son of Zebedee — Matthew 10:2
5. John — Matthew 10:2
6. Philip — Matthew 10:3
7. Bartholomew — Matthew 10:3
8. Thomas — Matthew 10:3
9. Matthew — Matthew 10:3
10. James the son of Alphaeus — Matthew 10:3
11. Thaddaeus, or Judas the son of James — Matthew 10:3; Luke 6:16
12. Simon the Zealot — Matthew 10:4
13. Judas Iscariot — Matthew 10:4
14. Matthias — Acts 1:26
15. Paul — Galatians 1:1
16. Barnabas — 1 Cor. 9:5-6; Acts 14:4, 14
17. James, the Lord's Brother — Galatians 1:19
18. Silas (Silvanus) — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
19. Timothy — 1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2:6
20. Epaphroditus — Philippians 2:25 [the Greek uses the word apostolos, but most English translations translate it as something other than apostle]
21. Apollos — 1 Corinthians 4:6-9; 3:22
    
22. Two unnamed apostles — 2 Corinthians 8:23

Not even verse 9 can be argued to be saying that Paul was the last of the apostles and that there would be none after him. In verse 9, Paul is demonstrating humility, and saying that he is the least of the apostles, not worthy to have been called to be one. If you want to learn more about apostleship, see The Gift of Apostleship.